UPMSP Intermediate Persian key terms

Persian prose writing, as opposed to verse. In this exam it covers the prescribed prose lessons, whose plot, characters, central idea, and author background you must be able to discuss in Persian and in translation.

Persian poetry or verse. Questions ask you to explain couplets, identify the theme, and name devices such as simile, metaphor, and alliteration used by the prescribed poets.

The central idea or main message of a lesson or poem, stated in one or two sentences. Examiners expect it to be drawn from the text itself, not from general moralising.

The title of a prescribed lesson. You should be able to explain why the author chose it and how it points to the story's main event or character.

Characterisation: how an author builds a person through action, speech, and the reactions of others. Answers should quote incidents from the text rather than give bare adjectives.

The author's introduction: name, period, place, and notable works. Prescribed prose questions often ask for a short life sketch linked to the lesson's subject matter.

The poet's introduction: name, pen name (تخلص), era, and style. You may be asked to connect a prescribed poem's tone with the poet's life or literary movement.

The pen name a Persian poet uses, usually woven into the final line of a ghazal. Recognising it helps identify the poet and the closing couplet of a poem.

The closing couplet of a ghazal, where the poet traditionally names himself or herself by the pen name. It often carries the poem's emotional summary.

A couplet: two rhyming half-lines forming the basic unit of Persian poetry. Counting and numbering couplets is often required when explaining a prescribed passage.

A single half-line of a couplet. Explaining a verse usually means paraphrasing each مصرع separately and then linking the two into one meaning.

Explanation or commentary on a verse: restating its literal sense in simple Persian, then giving its deeper meaning and any literary device used.

Simile: comparing two things with a word such as مانند, مثل, or چون. When identifying it, name the مشبہ (thing compared) and مشبہ بہ (thing compared to).

Metaphor: applying a word to something it does not literally denote, because of a shared quality, without a comparison word. It is a compressed simile with one side left implicit.

Metonymy or allusion: expressing an idea indirectly through an associated object or action, as when generosity is suggested by open hands. The literal words differ from the intended sense.

Figurative or transferred usage, where a word is used for something related to its literal meaning rather than its exact sense. It is the broad category covering metaphor and metonymy.

Allusion: a brief reference to a well-known story, verse, or religious figure that the reader is expected to recognise, often from the Quran or the Shahnama.

Verb: the word carrying the action or state in a sentence. Persian verbs agree with the subject in person and number, and grammar questions often test this agreement.

The subject: the doer of the verb. In Persian, a singular subject takes a singular verb even when the predicate is plural, a point frequently tested in correction exercises.

The object of a verb, usually marked by را when definite. Recognising it helps in parsing sentences and in converting active constructions into passive ones.

Tense: the time reference of a verb. You must distinguish past, present, and future forms and choose the correct tense when filling blanks or translating sentences.

The past tense. Its simple stem is formed by removing the final ن from the infinitive, as in رفتن giving رفت, which then takes personal endings.

The present tense. Its stem is not predictable from the infinitive and must be learned for each verb, for example رفتن giving رو. It also forms the basis of the future.

The future tense, formed with خواہ plus the short present stem, as in خواهد رفت. Recognising it prevents mistranslation of sentences about events yet to happen.

The infinitive, the dictionary form of a verb ending in ن, such as نوشتن. It supplies the past stem and the meaning used when looking words up.

The ezafe: an unstressed -e- linking a noun to its modifier, as in کتابِ خوب. It is written as a small stroke and is essential in correct reading and translation.

A genitive or possessive construction joined by ezafe, such as درِ خانہ, meaning the door of the house. Word order reverses in Hindi and English translation.

A compound or phrase treated as one unit of meaning. Breaking a ترکیب into its parts correctly is a common grammar and translation task.

An idiom: a fixed expression whose meaning cannot be worked out from its individual words. Idioms must be matched to an equivalent in the target language, not translated literally.

Translation. Persian-to-Hindi or Persian-to-English questions require accurate meaning, correct tense, and natural target-language word order rather than word-for-word rendering.

Everyday vocabulary: common nouns, verbs, and adjectives used in daily Persian speech. A working stock of these speeds up unseen passage comprehension and translation.

A synonym: a word with nearly the same meaning as another, such as دل and قلب. Synonym questions test whether you can match words within the passage's register.

An antonym: a word opposite in meaning to another, such as روشن and تاریک. Antonym pairs are a standard vocabulary item in unseen passage exercises.

An unseen passage: a short Persian text not from the textbook, followed by questions on its main idea, specific details, and difficult words. Read the questions before the passage.

A formal letter: one written to an office, editor, or institution, opening with a respectful address and closing with a formal signature. Tone must stay polite and impersonal.

An application or request letter, typically asking an authority for leave, a certificate, or redress of a problem. It states the request, gives reasons, and ends with a courteous closing.

An essay or composition on a given topic. A good answer has a clear introduction, two or three developed paragraphs with examples, and a short conclusion in correct Persian.